Darvil was large man, the ladder he was currently balancing on was not. The air was heavy with moisture and had a hint of the fall weather to come on it. Everything would be covered in dew in the morning, still several hours off. In the near blackness he was slowly removing the bolts holding a faded wooden image of a phoenix from the rusted iron hanger over the door to the tavern. Jolf the cook was waiting, safely on the ground, with an equally faded placard of a gryphon in his hands. Darvil carefully passed the phoenix down and took the gryphon in return. Jolf, with a certain petulance to his voice asked " why not just leave both up and call the place the gryphon and the phoenix?". Darvil looking down from the ladder answered "Its not a bad idea, but I'd need a new bracket and with the coin I won from the smith last week at cards, he'd surely charge me three times the price. Besides if the phoenix was on top when House Haverlith was in charge, there'd be trouble, and the same if the gryphon was on top when the Graflynn's were in power. So we' be doing as much work swapping them back and forth. This way everyone will wake and know for sure that the nephew of the former Duke Haverlith has beaten the current Duke Graflynn. We are doing a public service."
"But isn't Chelwith a freecity?" grumbled Jolf.
"No such beast" answered Darvin," the city elders pay off whichever house is currently in charge- there is nothing free about it."
"Why of all the cursed luck did Haverlith and Graflynn both have to end up here when the shatter occurred?" Asked Jolf.
"Shatter? Is that what people are calling the thing these days? I have no idea but perhaps its a question the scholars should consider. Why did certain places travel together when the world turned upside down?" Darvin wondered. "All I know is that the land has mostly been stable for the last decade, so I doubt either is going anywhere. Phawh, as long as their coin is good and they spend it in my place I don't really care. Take the phoenix sign up to the attic. I'm sure we will need it again one of these days."